Suspect Arrested In 8-Year D.C. Murder Mystery Case

Jose Angel Rodriguez-Cruz was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the death of Pamela Butler.

Law enforcement officials in Washington, D.C. believe that they have solved an 8-year murder mystery case surrounding a Black woman who disappeared from her home in 2009. According to the Washington Post, the boyfriend of 47-year-old Pamela Butler was apprehended on Friday in connection with her murder.

From the time Pamela Butler vanished from her two-story house in Northwest Washington just before Valentine’s Day 2009, police and her family believed that the 47-year-old had been killed, and all signs pointed to her boyfriend.

For eight years, police found no clues to support a criminal charge. A search of the victim’s home apparently turned up no blood. The scouring of a 6,000-acre park along the Potomac River came up empty. And despite extensive questioning of the boyfriend, he never wavered from his claim of innocence.

On Saturday, D.C. police announced a break in the cold case. They had arrested the boyfriend, Jose Angel Rodriguez-Cruz — who now is 51 and lives in Alexandria, Va. — and charged him with first-degree murder. He spent most of Saturday being questioned by detectives.

Rodriguez-Cruz is slated to appear in D.C. Superior Court on Monday, reports the outlet. He reportedly has a long history of domestic violence.

According to the Washington Post, Butler’s loved ones are relieved that Rodriguez-Cruz has been arrested and charged because it gives them a sense of closure.